Systems and methods for efficiently managing and configuring virtual servers

ABSTRACT

The present invention is related to providing faster and more efficient ways to deploy and manage virtual server configurations in a hosted virtual server service. Broadly, a web interface allows a user to set conditions upon which specific types of virtual servers will be instantiated or terminated on a third-party hosted virtual server service. For example, the user may wish to instantiate a new virtual server each time the load on existing virtual servers exceeds a predetermined threshold. The web interface may also allow a user to select from among a plurality of hosted virtual server services. The web interface may further allow a user to incorporate dynamic variables into configurations of instantiated virtual servers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hosted virtual server services allow users to instantiate virtualservers running software specified by the users without requiring acustomer to own or manage the hardware underlying the virtual serverinstances. Virtual server services, including, for example, Amazon EC2,may enable users to instantiate a number of virtual servers of a varietyof different configurations to match their needs.

Many virtual server services allow instantiation of virtual servers frombootable images provided by users. These images may contain the set ofdesired server software of the users. Some virtual server services allowthe remote instantiation of virtual servers from bootable imagesprovided by users, such as through a published API or a web interface.The remote instantiation capabilities in principle allow a user to scaleup or down the number of instantiated virtual servers based on changingdemand or other factors. However, it is typically not practical topersonally monitor servers, decide when to launch additional servers,and configure them manually.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to providing faster and more efficientways to deploy and manage virtual server configurations in a hostedvirtual server service. Broadly, a web interface allows a user to setconditions upon which specific types of virtual servers will beinstantiated or terminated on a third-party hosted virtual serverservice. For example, the user may wish to instantiate a new virtualserver each time the load on existing virtual servers exceeds apredetermined threshold. The web interface may also allow a user toselect from among a plurality of hosted virtual server services. The webinterface may further allow a user to incorporate dynamic variables intoconfigurations of instantiated virtual servers.

In one aspect, the present invention relates to a method for providing aconfiguration and instantiation interface to a hosted virtual serverservice. In one embodiment, a method includes: providing an interface toa hosted virtual server service, the interface comprising: inputs for auser to select a virtual server configuration among a plurality ofvirtual server configurations; and inputs for a user to set a policy fordynamically instantiating virtual servers, the policy comprising atleast one condition; determining that the at least one condition hasbeen met; and transmitting, to the hosted virtual server service,instructions to instantiate a virtual server according to the selectedvirtual server configuration. In some embodiments, the method mayinclude transmitting values of user-specified variables to theinstantiated virtual server. In some embodiments, the method may includeterminating one or more virtual servers in response to a measurement. Insome embodiments, the method may include selecting among a number ofhosted virtual server services to instantiate the virtual server basedupon a user-defined policy.

In another aspect, the present invention relates to a system forproviding a configuration and instantiation interface to a hostedvirtual server service. In one embodiment, a system includes: a webserver which provides an interface to a hosted virtual server service,the interface comprising: input means for a user to select a virtualserver configuration among a plurality of virtual server configurations;and input means for a user to set a policy for dynamically instantiatingvirtual servers, the policy comprising at least one condition; acomputing device, in communication with the web server, which determinesthat the at least one condition has been met; and transmits, to thehosted virtual server service, instructions to instantiate a virtualserver according to the selected virtual server configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, aspects, features, and advantages ofthe invention will become more apparent and may be better understood byreferring to the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of one embodiment of a network settingenabling the management of virtual servers;

FIG. 1B is a block diagram of one embodiment of a network settingenabling the creation of configurable virtual server instances frommachine images;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are block diagrams of a typical computer 200 useful asclient computing devices and server computing devices;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for facilitating thecreation of configurable virtual server instances from machine images;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method for reducing thetime taken to create configurable virtual server instances from machineimages;

FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, 5F, and 5G are example screenshots of oneembodiment of a configuration and instantiation interface to a hostedvirtual server service;

FIG. 6A is a flow diagram of a first embodiment of a method forproviding a configuration and instantiation interface to a hostedvirtual server service;

FIG. 6B is a flow diagram of a second embodiment of a method forproviding a configuration and instantiation interface to a hostedvirtual server service; and

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a third embodiment of a method for providinga configuration and instantiation interface to a hosted virtual serverservice.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIG. 1A, a block diagram of one embodiment of a networksetting enabling the management of virtual servers is shown. In briefoverview, a user station 102 displays a web interface to a user andtransmits configuration information from the user to a virtual servermanager 100 (also referred to herein as simply a “manager”). The virtualserver manager 100 manages instantiation, configuration, and terminationof virtual server instances 110 a, 110 b, 110 c (generally 110). Themanager 100 may monitor any data received from the instances 110 or thehosted virtual server service 120. Still referring to FIG. 1A, now ingreater detail, the virtual server manager 100 may comprise any computerdevice capable of receiving one or more virtual server images andaccompanying configuration information. In some embodiments, the virtualserver manager may comprise a single server; in other embodiments, thevirtual server manager 100 may comprise a server cluster. In someembodiments, the manager 100 may have one or more associated databasesfor storing configuration information and/or virtual server images.These databases may be segregated by user, such that different users ofthe manager 100 can store various images without interfering with imagesstored by other users. In some embodiments, users may be permitted toshare images and/or configuration information stored on a manager 100.

In some embodiments, the virtual server manager 100 may be operated on asubscription basis. For example, a company may charge users to store oneor more images on the manager, and to use the manager to instantiate oneor more servers on the hosted service. In some embodiments, the virtualserver manager 100 may be operated by an entity independent from thevirtual server service. In some embodiments, the user station maycommunicate with the manager 100 via a web interface. For example, amanager 100 may provide a web interface for a number of companies tomanage their virtual server deployments on a hosted virtual serverservice. For example, a company running the manager 100 may charge aflat fee for a company to use the services of the manager 100 ininitiating virtual servers. Or for example, a company running themanager 100 may charge a pro-rated fee based on how many base images orconfiguration profiles are created and/or stored using the manager 100.Or for example, a company running the manager 100 may charge a monthlyfee for use of the control features offered by the manager in operatingand instantiating virtual servers. Or for example, a company running themanager 100 may charge a fee based on the amount of time any virtualservers managed have been running.

A virtual server service 120 may comprise any service allowing one ormore users to instantiate virtual servers on resources hosted by thevirtual server service 120. Examples of virtual server services includethe EC2 service offered by Amazon, Inc. and FLEXISCALE, offered byXCalibre Communications Ltd. In some embodiments, a manager 100 may bespecifically designed to work with a single virtual server service. Inother embodiments, a manager 100 may provide an interface to a pluralityof virtual server services.

Referring now to FIG. 1B, one embodiment of a network setting enablingthe creation of configurable virtual server instances from machineimages is shown. In brief overview, a user station 102 accepts inputfrom a user specifying a boot image, which is created on a bootstrapserver 115. The base server image is then sent to a virtual servermanager 100. At a separate time, configuration information may bereceived from the user station 102 or a different user station 102. Thevirtual server manager 100 sends the virtual server service 120instructions to instantiate an instance of the boot image. Afterdetermining that instance 110 is ready, the manager 100 sends thereceived configuration information to the virtual server instance. Inthis manner, configuration of a virtual server instance is decoupledfrom the process of building a server image.

Still referring to FIG. 1B, now in greater detail, a user station 102may provide any functionality for a user to create boot images forvirtual servers. In some embodiments, the user station 102 may becoupled with a bootstrap server 115 which compiles or otherwisegenerates the virtual server images. In other embodiments, the virtualserver images may be created on the user station 102 itself. Both theuser station 102 and bootstrap server 115 may comprise any computingdevices.

The user station, manager 100, and virtual server service 120 may beconnected in any manner, and via any network or networks. Connectionsand networks included in the connections may comprise the Internet,local networks, web servers, file servers, routers, databases,computers, servers, network appliances, or any other computing devicescapable of sending and receiving information. A network may comprisecomputing devices connected via cables, infrared ports, wirelesssignals, or any other means of connecting multiple computing devices. Anetwork and any devices connected to the networks may communicate viaany communication protocol used to communicate among or within computingdevices, including without limitation SSL, BitTorrent, HTML, XML, RDP,ICA, FTP, HTTP, SIP, XMPP (also known as Jabber), TCP, IP, UDP, IPX,SPX, NetBIOS, NetBEUI, SMB, SMTP, Ethernet, ARCNET, Fiber DistributedData Interface (FDDI), RS232, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.11a, IEE 802.11b,IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, WiMax and direct asynchronous connections,or any combination and/or extensions thereof. The network may comprisemobile telephone networks utilizing any protocol or protocols used tocommunicate among mobile devices, including AMPS, TDMA, CDMA, GSM, GPRSor UMTS.

FIGS. 2A and 2B depict block diagrams of a computing device 200 usefulfor practicing an embodiment of the client 102 or a server. A client 102and server may be deployed as and/or executed on any type and form ofcomputing device, such as a computer, network device or appliancecapable of communicating on any type and form of network and performingthe operations described herein. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, eachcomputing device 200 includes a central processing unit 221, and a mainmemory unit 222. As shown in FIG. 2A, a computing device 200 may includea visual display device 224, a keyboard 226 and/or a pointing device227, such as a mouse. As shown in FIG. 2B, each computing device 200 mayalso include additional optional elements, such as one or moreinput/output devices 230 a-230 b (generally referred to using referencenumeral 230), and a cache memory 240 in communication with the centralprocessing unit 221.

The central processing unit 221 is any logic circuitry that responds toand processes instructions fetched from the main memory unit 222. Inmany embodiments, the central processing unit is provided by amicroprocessor unit, such as: those manufactured by Intel Corporation ofMountain View, Calif.; those manufactured by Motorola Corporation ofSchaumburg, Ill.; those manufactured by Transmeta Corporation of SantaClara, Calif.; the RS/6000 processor, those manufactured byInternational Business Machines of White Plains, N.Y.; or thosemanufactured by Advanced Micro Devices of Sunnyvale, Calif. Thecomputing device 200 may be based on any of these processors, or anyother processor capable of operating as described herein.

Main memory unit 222 may be one or more memory chips capable of storingdata and allowing any storage location to be directly accessed by themicroprocessor 221, such as Static random access memory (SRAM), BurstSRAM or SynchBurst SRAM (BSRAM), Dynamic random access memory (DRAM),Fast Page Mode DRAM (FPM DRAM), Enhanced DRAM (EDRAM), Extended DataOutput RAM (EDO RAM), Extended Data Output DRAM (EDO DRAM), BurstExtended Data Output DRAM (BEDO DRAM), Enhanced DRAM (EDRAM),synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), JEDEC SRAM, PC200 SDRAM, Double Data RateSDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), SyncLink DRAM (SLDRAM),Direct Rambus DRAM (DRDRAM), or Ferroelectric RAM (FRAM). The mainmemory 222 may be based on any of the above described memory chips, orany other available memory chips capable of operating as describedherein. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A, the processor 221communicates with main memory 222 via a system bus 250 (described inmore detail below). FIG. 2B depicts an embodiment of a computing device200 in which the processor communicates directly with main memory 222via a memory port 203. For example, in FIG. 2B the main memory 222 maybe DRDRAM.

FIG. 2B depicts an embodiment in which the main processor 221communicates directly with cache memory 240 via a secondary bus,sometimes referred to as a backside bus. In other embodiments, the mainprocessor 221 communicates with cache memory 240 using the system bus250. Cache memory 240 typically has a faster response time than mainmemory 222 and is typically provided by SRAM, BSRAM, or EDRAM. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 2B, the processor 221 communicates with variousI/O devices 230 via a local system bus 250. Various buses may be used toconnect the central processing unit 221 to any of the I/O devices 230,including a VESA VL bus, an ISA bus, an EISA bus, a MicroChannelArchitecture (MCA) bus, a PCI bus, a PCI-X bus, a PCI-Express bus, or aNuBus. For embodiments in which the I/O device is a video display 224,the processor 221 may use an Advanced Graphics Port (AGP) to communicatewith the display 224. FIG. 2B depicts an embodiment of a computer 200 inwhich the main processor 221 communicates directly with I/O device 230 bvia HyperTransport, Rapid I/O, or InfiniBand. FIG. 2B also depicts anembodiment in which local busses and direct communication are mixed: theprocessor 221 communicates with I/O device 230 a using a localinterconnect bus while communicating with I/O device 230 b directly.

The computing device 200 may support any suitable installation device216, such as a floppy disk drive for receiving floppy disks such as3.5-inch, 5.25-inch disks or ZIP disks, a CD-ROM drive, a CD-R/RW drive,a DVD-ROM drive, tape drives of various formats, USB device, hard-driveor any other device suitable for installing software and programs orportions thereof. The computing device 200 may further comprise astorage device, such as one or more hard disk drives or redundant arraysof independent disks, Flash memory, or EEPROMs, for storing an operatingsystem and other related software, and for storing application softwareprograms. Optionally, any of the installation devices 216 could also beused as the storage device. Additionally, the operating system and thesoftware can be run from a bootable medium, for example, a bootable CD,such as KNOPPIX®, a bootable CD for GNU/Linux that is available as aGNU/Linux distribution from knoppix.net.

Furthermore, the computing device 200 may include a network interface218 to interface to a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN)or the Internet through a variety of connections including, but notlimited to, standard telephone lines, LAN or WAN links (e.g., 802.11,T1, T3, 56kb, X.25, SNA, DECNET), broadband connections (e.g., ISDN,Frame Relay, ATM, Gigabit Ethernet, Ethernet-over-SONET, ADSL, SDSL),wireless connections, or some combination of any or all of the above.Connections can be established using a variety of communicationprotocols. In one embodiment, the computing device 200 communicates withother computing devices 200 via any type and/or form of gateway ortunneling protocol such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Transport LayerSecurity (TLS), or the Citrix Gateway Protocol manufactured by CitrixSystems, Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The network interface 218 maycomprise a built-in network adapter, network interface card, PCMCIAnetwork card, card bus network adapter, wireless network adapter, USBnetwork adapter, modem or any other device suitable for interfacing thecomputing device 200 to any type of network capable of communication andperforming the operations described herein.

A wide variety of I/O devices 230 a-230 n may be present in thecomputing device 200. Input devices include keyboards, mice, trackpads,trackballs, microphones, and drawing tablets. Output devices includevideo displays, speakers, inkjet printers, laser printers, anddye-sublimation printers. The I/O devices may be controlled by an I/Ocontroller 223 as shown in FIG. 2A. The I/O controller may control oneor more I/O devices such as a keyboard 226 and a pointing device 227,e.g., a mouse or optical pen. Furthermore, an I/O device may alsoprovide storage and/or an installation medium 216 for the computingdevice 200. In still other embodiments, the computing device 200 mayprovide USB connections to receive handheld USB storage devices such asthe USB Flash Drive line of devices manufactured by Twintech Industry,Inc. of Los Alamitos, Calif.

In some embodiments, the computing device 200 may comprise or beconnected to multiple display devices 224 a-224 n, which each may be ofthe same or different type and/or form. As such, any of the I/O devices230 a-230 n and/or the I/O controller 223 may comprise any type and/orform of suitable hardware, software, or combination of hardware andsoftware to support, enable or provide for the connection and use ofmultiple display devices 224 a-224 n by the computing device 200. Forexample, the computing device 200 may include any type and/or form ofvideo adapter, video card, driver, and/or library to interface,communicate, connect or otherwise use the display devices 224 a-224 n.In one embodiment, a video adapter may comprise multiple connectors tointerface to multiple display devices 224 a-224 n. In other embodiments,the computing device 200 may include multiple video adapters, with eachvideo adapter connected to one or more of the display devices 224 a-224n. In some embodiments, any portion of the operating system of thecomputing device 200 may be configured for using multiple displays 224a-224 n. In other embodiments, one or more of the display devices 224a-224 n may be provided by one or more other computing devices, such ascomputing devices 200 a and 200 b connected to the computing device 200,for example, via a network. These embodiments may include any type ofsoftware designed and constructed to use another computer's displaydevice as a second display device 224 a for the computing device 200.One ordinarily skilled in the art will recognize and appreciate thevarious ways and embodiments that a computing device 200 may beconfigured to have multiple display devices 224 a-224 n.

In further embodiments, an I/O device 230 may be a bridge between thesystem bus 250 and an external communication bus, such as a USB bus, anApple Desktop Bus, an RS-232 serial connection, a SCSI bus, a FireWirebus, a FireWire 800 bus, an Ethernet bus, an AppleTalk bus, a GigabitEthernet bus, an Asynchronous Transfer Mode bus, a HIPPI bus, a SuperHIPPI bus, a SerialPlus bus, a SCI/LAMP bus, a FibreChannel bus, or aSerial Attached small computer system interface bus.

A computing device 200 of the sort depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B typicallyoperates under the control of operating systems, which controlscheduling of tasks and access to system resources. The computing device200 can be running any operating system such as any of the versions ofthe MICROSOFT WINDOWS operating systems, the different releases of theUnix and Linux operating systems, any version of the MAC OS forMacintosh computers, any embedded operating system, any real-timeoperating system, any open source operating system, any proprietaryoperating system, any operating systems for mobile computing devices, orany other operating system capable of running on the computing deviceand performing the operations described herein. Typical operatingsystems include: WINDOWS 3.x, WINDOWS 95, WINDOWS 98, WINDOWS 2000,WINDOWS NT 3.51, WINDOWS NT 4.0, WINDOWS CE, WINDOWS XP, and WINDOWSVISTA, all of which are manufactured by Microsoft Corporation ofRedmond, Washington; MACOS, manufactured by Apple Computer of Cupertino,Calif.; OS/2, manufactured by International Business Machines of Armonk,N.Y.; and Linux, a freely-available operating system distributed byCaldera Corp. of Salt Lake City, Utah, or any type and/or form of a Unixoperating system, among others.

The computer system 200 can be any workstation, desktop computer, laptopor notebook computer, server, handheld computer, mobile telephone orother portable telecommunication device, media playing device, a gamingsystem, mobile computing device, or any other type and/or form ofcomputing, telecommunications or media device that is capable ofcommunication and that has sufficient processor power and memorycapacity to perform the operations described herein. For example, thecomputer system 200 may comprise a device of the IPOD family of devicesmanufactured by Apple Computer of Cupertino, Calif., a PLAYSTATION 2,PLAYSTATION 3, or PERSONAL PLAYSTATION PORTABLE (PSP) devicemanufactured by the Sony Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, a NINTENDO DS,NINTENDO GAMEBOY, NINTENDO GAMEBOY ADVANCED or NINTENDO REVOLUTIONdevice manufactured by Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, or an XBOXor XBOX 360 device manufactured by the Microsoft Corporation of Redmond,Wash.

For embodiments comprising mobile devices, the device may be aJAVA-enabled cellular telephone, such as the i55sr, i58sr, i85s, or thei88s, all of which are manufactured by Motorola Corp. of Schaumburg,Ill.; the 6035 or the 7135, manufactured by Kyocera of Kyoto, Japan; orthe i300 or i330, manufactured by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., ofSeoul, Korea. In other embodiments comprising mobile devices, a mobiledevice may be a personal digital assistant (PDA) operating under controlof the PalmOS operating system, such as the Tungsten W, the VII, theVIIx, the i705, all of which are manufactured by palmOne, Inc. ofMilpitas, Calif. In further embodiments, the client 102 may be apersonal digital assistant (PDA) operating under control of the PocketPCoperating system, such as the iPAQ 4155, iPAQ 5555, iPAQ 1945, iPAQ2215, and iPAQ 4255, all of which manufactured by Hewlett-PackardCorporation of Palo Alto, Calif.; the ViewSonic V36, manufactured byViewSonic of Walnut, Calif.; or the Toshiba PocketPC e405, manufacturedby Toshiba America, Inc. of New York, N.Y. In still other embodiments,the mobile device is a combination PDA/telephone device such as the Treo180, Treo 270, Treo 600, Treo 650, Treo 700, or the Treo 700w, all ofwhich are manufactured by palmOne, Inc. of Milpitas, Calif., or theIPHONE family of devices manufactured by Apple Computer. In stillfurther embodiments, the mobile device is a cellular telephone thatoperates under control of the PocketPC operating system, such as theMPx200, manufactured by Motorola Corp. In still other embodiments, amobile device may comprise a mobile gaming device with wirelesscommunication capability. A typical mobile device may comprise many ofthe elements described above in FIGS. 2A and 2B, including the processorand the main memory.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a flow diagram illustrating a method forfacilitating the creation of configurable virtual server instances frommachine images is shown. In brief overview, the method comprises:generating a base machine image, the base machine image comprising abootable subset of desired virtual server capabilities and aconfiguration manager (step 301); transmitting instructions toinstantiate the base machine image on at least one virtual server (step303); determining the configuration manager of the instantiated virtualserver is ready to receive configuration information (step 305); andtransmitting, to the configuration manager, configuration informationfor the instantiated virtual server (step 307).

Still referring to FIG. 3, now in greater detail, a base machine imagehaving a bootable subset of desired virtual server capabilities and aconfiguration manager may be created in any manner (step 301);. Thebootable subset may comprise any subset of virtual server capabilities,including without limitation an operating system, HTTP server, fileunzipping/unpacking utilities, scripting language support, andencryption/decryption utilities. In some embodiments, a machine imagemay be created by including the configuration manager in the buildprocess including the virtual server capabilities. In other embodiments,a machine image may be created by modifying an existing machine image.In these embodiments, a configuration manager may be already present ona running virtual server booted from that machine image or one may beinstalled, and then a new machine image may be taken of the runningvirtual server.

The configuration manager may comprise any utilities for configuring avirtual server after instantiation. In some embodiments, a singleconfiguration manager may be provided by a manager 100 for users toselect to include within the machine image. In other embodiments, aplurality of configuration managers may be offered. A plurality ofconfiguration managers may be used to support enhancements to theconfiguration manager while retaining old versions to ensure existingserver configurations work exactly as before. A plurality ofconfiguration managers may also be used to support multiple operatingsystems (e.g. Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris) or to support multiple versionsof one operating system (e.g. RedHat Linux, Debian Linux, and UbuntuLinux; or Solaris 10 and OpenSolaris).

In some embodiments, a user may be allowed to create a number ofdifferent machine images. For example, a user may want to create anumber of virtual server base machine images, each with a differentoperating system. The user then may use each of these images to createcustomized virtual server instances running on each of the operatingsystems.

After the base machine image is created, instructions to instantiate thebase machine image on at least one virtual server may be transmitted inany manner (step 303). In some embodiments, the instructions may betransmitted from a manager 100 to a virtual server service 120. In someembodiments, this transmission may be initiated by a user. For example,a manager 100 may provide a web page by which a user can access andmanage a number of virtual servers on one or more virtual serverservices. The user can send, through the manager 100, instructions toinstantiate a particular machine image. The manager 100 may then selectthe appropriate base image and send instructions to the virtual serverservice to instantiate the image.

In some embodiments, the instructions to instantiate the virtual servermay be sent automatically. In these embodiments, any configuration ormonitoring data either from the virtual server itself, other servers,the manager 100 or any combinations of the aforementioned data can beused to trigger the sending of instructions. For example, a manager 100may have instructions to automatically instantiate a given machine imageif usage, load, or utilization of a number of servers exceeds athreshold, or if a given virtual server fails.

In some embodiments, the instantiation instructions may comprise one ormore parameters for the to-be-instantiated server. For example, theinstantiation instructions may include a serial number or otheridentifier so that a manager 100 can identify the particularinstantiation later. Or for example, the instantiation instructions mayinclude an address for the manager 100 so that the newly instantiatedserver will have an address to connect to upon instantiation.

After transmitting the instructions, a manager 100 may determine theconfiguration manager of the instantiated virtual server is ready toreceive configuration information in any manner (step 305). In someembodiments, the manager 100 may wait to receive a connection requestform the instantiated server. In other embodiments, the manager 100 mayperiodically request a connection to the instantiated server until itsucceeds. In some embodiments, the manager 100 may monitor the status ofthe instantiated server using a service provided through the hostedvirtual server service.

In one embodiment, the instantiated server may initiate an HTTPS sessionwith the manager 100. The instantiated server may pass to the manager100 a serial number given to it, along with a current state of themachine. The manager 100 may then verify that the serial numbercorresponds to a serial number the manager sent instructions toinstantiate. In other embodiments, the instantiated virtual server maybe identified by any other means, including a TCP/IP source addressand/or a hosted virtual server service identifier given to the instance.

After readiness is determined, configuration information for theinstantiated virtual server may be transmitted in any manner (step 307).In one embodiment, the configuration information may be transmitted fromthe manager 100.

The configuration information may comprise any information which may beused by the virtual server instance to function, including withoutlimitation, executables, files, parameters, and locations and types ofother virtual server instances. In one embodiment, the configurationinformation transmitted may comprise an ordered list of executablescripts, a list of URLs pointing to files corresponding to each script,and a set of input variable bindings which may be used and accessed bythe scripts during their execution. In this embodiment, the filescorresponding to each script may comprise any files utilized by eachscript, including without limitation configuration files, applicationpackages to install, executable files, and application data (e.g. adatabase snapshot).

After the configuration information is transmitted, the virtual serverinstance may then take any steps necessary to implement the receivedconfiguration information. The example below continues the embodimentdescribed above in which a manager 100 has transmitted an ordered listof executable scripts, a list of URLs pointing to files corresponding toeach script, and a set of input variable bindings.

An instance may first place each script into an executable file in thelocal filesystem, and download each attachment named in theconfiguration file from the provided URL to also store in the localfilesystem. The attachments may each be stored in a separate directoryfor each script. Each script may then be run in turn, with each scriptpassed the input variable bindings required by the script. Thesebindings may include a number of global variables, such as the machineimage id, the instance id, the IP addresses assigned to the instance,and the location of the attachments for the script. If any errors occur(e.g. a script exits with an error) the process may be aborted.

In some embodiments, the execution of the configuration process mayitself be determined by earlier steps in the configuration process. Forexample, a configuration script may produce an input parameter used in alater configuration script. Or, for example, a configuration script mayexecute to determine which of a set of configuration scripts should beexecuted, and in what order. In some embodiments, a configurationprocess may specify that one or more other virtual servers be launched,terminated, or otherwise affected based on the configuration process. Inthese embodiments, the virtual server executing the configurationprocess may send signals directly to the servers affected, or thevirtual server may send instructions to a manager 100.

After configuration is complete, an instance may signal the manager 100the outcome of the configuration process, which is “success” if allscripts executed without error, and “stranded” if a script exited withan error. This signaling may be done via any manner, and may use thesame method and/or connection used to transfer the configurationinformation. In addition, for troubleshooting purposes the instance maytransmit any number of configuration status updates, including, forexample, the UNIX standard output and error output of each script.

To give another configuration example, when deploying multi-serverconfigurations it is often necessary to configure one server withinformation that depends on the state of the second server. For example,the first server may need to connect to the second server and for thispurpose it may need to know the IP address of the second server. Inthese cases, particular challenges may be faced if the first and secondservers are launched substantially simultaneously, or if the two servershave mutual dependencies (in such a case a deadlock may occur if bothservers have to wait for information from the other server beforeproducing the information the other server needs). Such inter-serverdependencies may be handled by transmitting to the configuration managerincomplete information. Specifically, certain inputs may be marked as“missing.” The configuration manager proceeds with the configurationsteps but checks for the presence of all required inputs before runningeach specific script. If one or multiple inputs are missing, theconfiguration manager transmits any state information it may have to themanager 100 and then periodically queries the manager 100 for themissing input values. When it receives the missing values, it proceedsrunning the scripts.

In multi-server configurations, the dependencies between servers maychange over time. Continuing the above example, if the second serverfails and a replacement server is launched, then the configuration ofthe first server needs to be changed to update the dependentinformation. In addition, certain processes may need to be signaled orrestarted so they re-read the configuration information. In oneembodiment, after the initial configuration the configuration managercan poll the manager 100 periodically to inquire whether anyreconfiguration actions are required. If so, the manager's 100 responseto the poll may contain configuration information similar to the typetransmitted at boot time and the configuration manager executes therequested scripts in the same manner to update the virtual serverconfiguration. In another embodiment, instead of having theconfiguration manager poll periodically, the manager 100 can open aconnection to the server to send the required information.

Now referring to FIG. 4, a flow diagram of one embodiment of a methodfor reducing the time taken to create configurable virtual serverinstances from machine images is shown. In brief overview, the methodcomprises: generating a first base image, the first base imagecomprising a bootable subset of desired virtual server capabilities(step 401); generating a set of configuration instructions that completea server configuration for the first base image (step 403);instantiating a virtual server using the base image (step 405); applyinga subset of the set of configuration instructions to the instantiatedvirtual server (step 407); generating a second base image from theconfigured virtual server (step 409); transmitting instructions toinstantiate the second base machine image on at least one second virtualserver (step 411); determining the instantiated second virtual server isready to receive configuration information (step 413); and transmitting,to the instantiated second virtual server, configuration informationcomprising configuration instructions from the set of configurationinstructions not included in the subset of configuration instructions(step 415).

Still referring to FIG. 4, now in greater detail, the process ofinstantiating virtual servers using a manager 100 as described above maytake additional time depending on the amount of configurationinformation to be transmitted and the number of scripts to be run. Thusit may be desirable to create base images which have built in a subsetof the configuration information. The method shown in FIG. 4 may be usedto efficiently produce and instantiate such modified base images.

A first base image, the first base image comprising a bootable subset ofdesired virtual server capabilities, may be generated using any method.(step 401). The first base image may be created using any of thetechniques described above.

A set of configuration instructions that complete a server configurationfor the first base image may be generated in any manner (step 403). Theset of configuration instructions may comprise any of the configurationinformation described herein, including without limitation scripts,parameters, and associated files. In some embodiments, the configurationinstructions may be generated automatically in response to user inputspecifying a desired configuration. In some embodiments, theconfiguration instructions may be generated by a manager 100 in responseto receiving user input via a web interface.

A virtual server may then be instantiated using the base image in anymanner (step 405). In some embodiments, the virtual server may beinstantiated on a hosted virtual server service. In other embodiments,the virtual server may be instantiated in a test or build environment.In still other embodiments, the virtual server may be instantiated on amanager 100.

After instantiation, a subset of the set of configuration instructionsmay be applied to the instantiated virtual server (step 407). In someembodiments, a manager 100 may transmit the subset of configurationinstructions to the instantiated virtual server. The subset of the setof configuration instructions may be chosen in any manner. In someembodiments, a user may select the subset. In some embodiments, thesubset may be selected based on how common the instructions in thesubset are. For example, the subset may comprise the most commonly usedconfiguration instructions. In other embodiments, the subset may beselected based on how quickly the instructions can be executed by aninstantiated virtual server. For example, the subset may comprise theconfigurations instructions that take the longest to be executed by avirtual server.

A second base image may then be generated from the configured virtualserver (step 409). The second base image may be produced by anytechnique for generating a base image. In some embodiments, theconfigured virtual server may suspend or stop execution while a copy ismade of the executable code and accompanying files comprising theconfigured virtual server.

Instructions to instantiate the second base machine image on at leastone second virtual server may then be transmitted (step 411). In oneembodiment, the instructions to instantiate the second base machineimage may be transmitted from a manager 100 to a hosted virtual serverservice. For example, the instructions may be transmitted to a hostedvirtual server service either in direct response to a user request or aspart of an automatic instantiation process set up by a user.

A manager 100 may then determine the instantiated second virtual serveris ready to receive configuration information (step 413). Thisdetermination may be made using any technique or system describedherein, including for example, receiving a transmission from aconfiguration manager executing in the second virtual server.

After the determination, a manager 100 may transmit, to the instantiatedsecond virtual server, configuration information comprisingconfiguration instructions from the set of configuration instructionsnot included in the subset of configuration instructions (step 415).Transmission of configuration instructions may be done in any manner andusing any protocol or protocols. After the second virtual serverreceives the configuration instructions, the second virtual server mayapply the configuration instructions using any technique describedherein.

Now referring to FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, 5F, and 5G, examplescreenshots of one embodiment of a configuration and instantiationinterface to a hosted virtual server service are shown. Each of thesefigures will be discussed in detail in conjunction with the descriptionof FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 7 below.

Now referring to FIG. 6A, a flow diagram of a first embodiment of amethod for providing a configuration and instantiation interface to ahosted virtual server service is shown. In brief overview, a manager 100may provide an interface to a hosted virtual server service (step 601).The interface includes inputs for a user to select a virtual serverconfiguration among a plurality of virtual server configurations; andinputs for a user to set a policy for dynamically instantiating virtualservers, the policy comprising at least one condition. The manager 100may then determine that the at least one condition has been met (step603); and transmit, to the hosted virtual server service, instructionsto instantiate a virtual server according to the selected virtual serverconfiguration (step 605).

Still referring to FIG. 6A, now in greater detail, an interface to ahosted virtual server service may be provided in any manner. In someembodiments, the interface may comprise a web-based graphical interface.Such an interface may comprise any graphical interface capable of beingdisplayed via a web browser, including without limitation anycombination of HTML, Javascript, XML, images, text, Java Applets, and/orSVG. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise a command-lineinterface. In still other embodiments, the interface may be acombination of graphical and textual inputs. The interface may beprovided by any computing device or devices, including withoutlimitation a manager 100, user station 102, or any combination thereof.For example, a manager 100 may transmit a number of web pages to a userstation 102, and the user station may display the pages and transmituser input back to the manager 100.

An interface may include any inputs for a user to select a virtualserver configuration among a plurality of virtual server configurations.In some embodiments, a user may select among a number of configurationsfrom a menu. In other embodiments, a user may enter the names of one ormore virtual server configurations. In still other embodiments, a usermay transmit any data corresponding to a virtual server configuration aspart of the selection, including without limitation variables,configuration scripts, and server images. For example, a menu mayprovide an option to select among previously uploaded serverconfigurations or to upload a new virtual server image and/orconfiguration. In some embodiments, an interface may allow a user toselect from virtual server configurations created and shared by otherusers. For example, a user may create a particularly usefulconfiguration for hosting an e-commerce site. The user may thendesignate that configuration as shared, and thus allow other users touse that configuration. In some embodiments, the use may be predicatedon license terms and/or payments to the author of the configuration.

Referring back to FIG. 5A, an example menu allowing a user to selectamong a plurality of public and private server configurations is shown.The private server configurations may have been created and/or modifiedby the user. The public/premium server configurations may representserver configurations created and shared by others, or serverconfigurations made available by an administrator of the interface. Insome embodiments, there may be a charge assessed to the user for usingcertain public/premium server configurations.

Referring to FIG. 5B, an interface may also allow a user to view one ormore boot scripts associated with a server configuration. The user maythen be able to view, select, remove, or modify the boot scripts. A usermay also be able to add scripts to a server configuration, includingboth scripts created by the user or scripts made publicly available.

An interface may also include any inputs for a user to set a policy fordynamically instantiating virtual servers, the policy having at leastone condition. A policy may comprise any combination of conditions andactions. A condition may relate to any variable or variables, includingwithout limitation virtual server usage, hosted virtual server serviceparameters, time of day, date, receipt of transmissions for virtualservers, state of message queues (e.g. size or age), and signals sentfrom an application executing on a virtual (i.e., the application maydecide internally when additional servers are required). Conditionsrelating to virtual server utilization may use any parameter orcombination of parameters of virtual server usage, including withoutlimitation processor load, bandwidth usage, active connections, memoryload, maximum response time, and average response time disk utilization,system temperature and other environmental factors, hardware healthindicators such as memory error rates, disk error/retry rates, powersupply levels.

Referring now to FIG. 5C an example interface is shown which allow auser to select policies and conditions. FIG. 5C illustrates a number ofpolicies with conditions that may be enabled for managing a virtualservers. For example, the first policy causes a “scale-up” event to begenerated when cpu idle time for a virtual server falls below 50% for 3minutes. The scale-up event may be received by a manager 100 (orgenerated by the manager 100 in cases where the manager 100 is directlymonitoring the virtual servers) which may then send instructions to thevirtual server service to instantiate a new image of the currentlyheavily loaded virtual server. The second policy in the list of FIG. 5Ccauses a “scale-down” event to be generated when cpu idle time for avirtual server rises above 80% for 10 minutes. The scale-down event maybe received by a manager 100 (or generated by the manager 100 in caseswhere the manager 100 is directly monitoring the virtual servers) whichmay then send instructions to the virtual server service to remove aninstance of the under-utilized virtual server. For example, the thirdpolicy directs that a critical event be generated if a virtual server isin a stranded state for over 1 minute. The critical event may bereceived by a manager (or generated by the manager 100 in cases wherethe manager 100 is directly monitoring the virtual servers) 100 andlogged or the manger 100 may have specific procedure for the handling ofcritical events.

In some embodiments, a condition may relate to a failure of one or morevirtual servers. For example, a condition may provide for theinstantiation of a new virtual server upon failure of a running virtualserver instance. In these embodiments, failure may include any type offailure of the virtual server including without limitation a crash,suspension of execution, communication failure, failure to respond to amessage, failure to service a request, corruption, and/or involuntaryshut down. In some embodiments, a condition may relate to a predictedfailure of a virtual server. In these embodiments, a failure may bepredicted by any means, including without limitation based onrecoverable error rates such as the error rate of memory with errorchecking codes (ECC), or the various error rates of disks (typicallymonitored using the SMART standard). Failures may also be predictedbased on non-recoverable errors, for example spontaneous machinereboots. For example, a policy may decommission a server after anywherebetween 5 and 20 unexpected reboots (which are typically initiated byhardware checks), and instantiate a replacement.

For example, a policy may specify an action of instantiating a newvirtual server anytime a condition of virtual server usage climbingabove a threshold is true. Or for example, a policy may specify anaction of terminating a number of virtual server instances at 7:00 PM.In some embodiments, a policy may specify a total number of virtualservers to maintain at any given time. For example, a policy may statethat at 6 am at least 4 servers must be running, which may require thelaunch of 0 to 4 servers. The policy can also express that at most 20may be running, e.g. to limit the total cost. In some embodiments, apolicy may combine the state of multiple servers, for example, if theminimum requests served per second across all servers is above 100/sec,then launch an additional server. In other embodiments, any combinationof the above policies may be applied. For example, a policy may requireat least 4 servers running at 7 am, that one additional server islaunched if the average CPU utilization is over 40% for running servers,and require that at most 10 servers may be running at any point in time.

FIGS. 5D and 5E depict an example interface allowing a user to edit andcreate policies. In configuring the policy, a user may select a variablein a file where real-time monitoring data is collected. A user mayselect a variable, condition, threshold, duration, and escalation actionfor the policy. The user selection may be accomplished via any inputsincluding, without limitation, menus, checkboxes, textboxes, links,drag-and-drop interfaces, and sliders.

FIG. 5F depicts an example interface which allows a user to set policiesfor an array of servers. For example, an array may have an elasticitythreshold, which defines which fraction of servers must generate anevent to grow or shrink the array before the change takes place. In theexample shown, the array is grown or shrunk if a scale-up, respectivelyscale-down, event is generated for at least 51% of the servers. Thearray may be grown or shrunk by predetermined numbers of servers, andmay have hard upper and lower bounds on the number of virtual serversthat may run at one time. The array may also have a cooldown timerequired in between resizing events.

Referring now to FIG. 5G, in some embodiments, a display may be providedwhich shows usage statistics for one or more virtual server instances toa user. The display may present any statistics in any format, includingwithout limitation graphs, histograms, charts, animations and text. Insome embodiments, the display may illustrate specific parameters which auser desires to use in configuring one or more policies. For example, auser may consult CPU utilization trends over a one-month period todetermine a threshold for a policy to add additional server instancesbased on CPU utilization.

Referring ahead to FIG. 6B, in some embodiments, an interface may acceptinput of one or more configuration variables with a value to bedetermined based on a property at the time of instantiation (step 601a). The property may comprise any value that be determined atinstantiation time, including without limitation names, addresses, andconfiguration information of other instantiated virtual servers,properties of the hosted virtual server service, properties of themanager 100, utilization parameters of one or more instantiated virtualservers, or the exact conditions that triggered the launch of theserver.

Referring back to FIG. 6A, a manager 100 may then determine that the atleast one condition has been met (step 603) in any manner. In someembodiments, the manager 100 may receive data from the hosted virtualserver service to determine whether the condition has been met. In otherembodiments, the manager 100 may determine internally that the conditionhas been met, such as by checking a system time. In still otherembodiments, the manager 100 may determine whether a condition has beenmet by receiving data from one or more instantiated virtual servers.

After the condition has been met, the manager 100 may transmit, to thehosted virtual server service, instructions to instantiate a virtualserver according to the selected virtual server configuration (step605). The instructions may comprise any information regarding thevirtual server's configuration or instantiation. In some embodiments,the instructions may comprise one or more variables determined at thetime the instructions are transmitted. In still other embodiments, theinstructions may be to instantiate a virtual server with a configurationmanager which then configures the instantiated virtual server in anymanner described herein.

Referring ahead to FIG. 6B, in some embodiments, after transmitting theinstructions, a manager 100 may determine the value of one or morevariables (step 607). The manager 100 may then transmit the values ofthose variables to the instantiated virtual server.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a method for providing a configuration andinstantiation interface to a plurality of hosted virtual server servicesis shown. In brief overview, the method shown is similar to the methodof FIGS. 6A and 6B, with the addition of the interface accepting inputof a policy for selecting among a plurality of hosted virtual serverservices (step 601 b). The method may then include selecting, accordingto the policy, one of a plurality of hosted virtual server services toinstantiate a virtual server on (step 705).

Still referring to FIG. 7, an interface may be provided in any mannerdescribed herein (step 601 b). The interface may comprise any inputs fora user to specify a policy for selecting among hosted virtual serverservices. A policy may specify any attribute of a virtual serverservice, including without limitation performance, cost, usage, andlatency. For example, a policy may select among a plurality of servicesbased on which one provides the best performance/price tradeoff. Or forexample, a policy may select among a plurality of services based uponthe type of virtual server to be instantiated.

After the condition has been met (step 603), a manager may then selectone of the plurality of hosted virtual server services according to thefirst policy (step 705). The manager may receive any information, sendany requests, or compute any parameters in the course of making theselection. The manager may then transmit the instantiation instructionsto the selected service (step 605).

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may bemade therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A method for providing a configuration and instantiation interface toa hosted virtual server service, the method comprising: a. providing aninterface to a hosted virtual server service, the interface comprising:i. input means for a user to select a virtual server configuration amonga plurality of virtual server configurations; and ii. input means for auser to set a policy for dynamically instantiating virtual servers, thepolicy comprising at least one condition; b. determining that the atleast one condition has been met; and c. transmitting, to the hostedvirtual server service, instructions to instantiate a virtual serveraccording to the selected virtual server configuration.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the hosted virtual server service is a third-partyhosted virtual server service.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein step(a) comprises providing, on a subscription basis, an interface to ahosted virtual server service
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thecondition specifies one or more parameters, each parameter indicating autilization of one or more virtual servers.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein step (b) comprises receiving information indicating a value ofthe one or more parameters; and determining the value exceeds athreshold specified by the condition.
 6. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising: receiving information indicating a second measurement of avirtual server utilization parameter; determining the measurement isbelow a threshold specified by the condition; and transmitting, to thehosted virtual server service, instructions to terminate a virtualserver instance.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the interfacecomprises input means for a user to configure at least one policy fordynamically scaling virtual server instantiations responsive to anetwork utilization parameter.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein thecondition comprises a failure of an instantiated virtual server.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the condition comprises a predicted failureof an instantiated virtual server.
 10. The method of claim 1, whereinthe plurality of virtual server configurations comprise at least onevirtual server configuration created by a second user.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the interface further comprises inputs allowing a userto share created virtual server configurations with other users.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, wherein step (a) comprises providing an interface toa plurality of hosted virtual server services, the interface comprising:i. input means for a user to select a virtual server configuration amonga plurality of virtual server configurations; ii. input means for a userto set at least one policy for dynamically instantiating virtualservers, the policy comprising at least one condition; and iii. inputmeans for a user to select one of the plurality of hosted virtual serverservices; and wherein step (c) comprises transmitting, to the selectedhosted virtual server service, instructions to instantiate a virtualserver according to the selected virtual server configuration.
 13. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the input means for a user to select avirtual server configuration comprise input means for the user tospecify at least one configuration variable with a value to bedetermined based on a property of at least one other instantiatedvirtual server at the time of instantiation.
 14. The method of claim 13,further comprising the steps of: d. determining a value for each of thespecified at least one configuration variables; and e. transmitting thedetermined value to the instantiated virtual server.
 15. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the input means for a user to select a virtual serverconfiguration comprise input means for the user to specify at least oneconfiguration variable with a value to be determined based on a propertyof the hosted virtual server service at the time of instantiation. 16.The method of claim 15, further comprising the steps of: d. determininga value for each of the specified at least one configuration variables;and e. transmitting the determined value to the instantiated virtualserver.
 17. A method for providing a configuration and instantiationinterface to a plurality of hosted virtual server services, the methodcomprising: a. providing an interface to a plurality of hosted virtualserver services, the interface comprising: i. input means for a user toselect a virtual server configuration among a plurality of virtualserver configurations; ii. input means for a user to set a first policyfor selecting among the plurality of hosted virtual server services; andiii. input means for a user to set a second policy for dynamicallyinstantiating virtual servers, the policy comprising at least onecondition; b. determining that the at least one condition has been met;c. selecting one of the plurality of hosted virtual server servicesaccording to the first policy; and d. transmitting, to the selectedhosted virtual server service, instructions to instantiate a virtualserver according to the selected virtual server configuration.
 18. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the service policy specifies at least oneof: price, performance, geographic location, jurisdiction, proximity toa second service, and technical capability.
 19. A system for providing aconfiguration and instantiation interface to a hosted virtual serverservice, the system comprising: a web server which provides an interfaceto a hosted virtual server service, the interface comprising: i. inputmeans for a user to select a virtual server configuration among aplurality of virtual server configurations; and ii. input means for auser to set a policy for dynamically instantiating virtual servers, thepolicy comprising at least one condition; a computing device, incommunication with the web server, which determines that the at leastone condition has been met; and transmits, to the hosted virtual serverservice, instructions to instantiate a virtual server according to theselected virtual server configuration.
 20. The system of claim 19,wherein the hosted virtual server service is a third-party hostedvirtual server service.
 21. The system of claim 19, wherein thecondition specifies one or more parameters, each parameter indicating autilization of one or more virtual servers.
 22. The system of claim 21,wherein the computing device receives information indicating a value ofthe one or more parameters; and determines the value exceeds a thresholdspecified by the condition.
 23. The system of claim 22, wherein thecomputing device receives information indicating a second measurement ofa virtual server utilization parameter; determines the measurement isbelow a threshold specified by the condition; and transmits, to thehosted virtual server service, instructions to terminate a virtualserver instance.
 24. The system of claim 19, wherein the interfacecomprises input means for a user to configure at least one policy fordynamically scaling virtual server instantiations responsive to anetwork utilization parameter.
 25. The system of claim 19, wherein thecondition comprises a failure of an instantiated virtual server.
 26. Thesystem of claim 19, wherein the condition comprises a predicted failureof an instantiated virtual server.
 27. The system of claim 19, whereinthe plurality of virtual server configurations comprise at least onevirtual server configuration created by a second user.
 28. The system ofclaim 19, wherein the interface further comprises inputs allowing a userto share created virtual server configurations with other users.